Rest
by Sorceress of Shadows
Summary: Link says she's fine. The Spirits beg to differ. Oh, and yes, you did read that right. "She." *Leaf/FemLink friendship, though it can be read as romance if you squint.* Happy 20th story!  :D


**A/N: "I hate you…I want to see you miserable…all those times…you've always killed me…" ~Dark Link, Zelda UO. And that…is what I feel about writer's block.**

**Anyways, why? Why? Why am I writing this…? I dunno…I'm bored…and I just played PH…and gender-swap fics are the bestest! :D Sure I write lots of fics like this…but THIS one doesn't have Dark Link in it…or does it…? O_O**

**Disclaimer: I have a cousin who looks like Link in glasses. Does that count?**

**xXx**

**Rest**

I was not having a good day. That said, I'd been having bad days for a long time.

Sure, I should have been happy. I only needed one more pure metal; after that I could save my friend, who'd been turned to stone by the Ghost Ship (which I clearly remember boarding to get a Triforce Chart.)

Unfortunately, I was not happy. Not in the slightest. My experience at the Isle of Frost had taught me three very important things:

1. I do not have antlers or fur and am therefore not protected from "catching a sniffle," as one of the locals, who DID have antlers and fur, put it.

2. Plunging into freezing cold water is not an enjoyable experience.

3. Nor is being blown away by a Yook.

I groaned as the sun beat down and I crossed my arms and shivered. I normally enjoy sitting on deck with the waves crashing against the boat, but today…I wanted to go down to the engine room, but seeing as I get seasick easily (of all the things for the Heroine of Winds, fearless sailor, to be,) that wasn't an option. Heck, I already wanted to puke, but I doubted Linebeck would be pleased to find his salted Octorock soiled, so I stayed on deck where my vomit could be disposed of in a safe manner.

Predictably, when I thought of the engine room, I thought of my friend. And when I thought of my friend, I thought of the Ghost Ship, which invariably led to my thinking of the Temple of the Ocean King. There was something I didn't want to repeat. And of course I had to do so. And after that—

"Hey kid! Asleep at the wheel?" A jolt, followed by an irritated Linebeck, interrupted my train of thoughts.

"What's the rush Linebeck?" Oh dear Din. Not her. "Wherever you go, I'll always catch up!"

I proceeded to pick myself up painfully and shoot the cannon. "Fudge!" I muttered as Linebeck shouted, "Bah! Ambush!"

xXx

I was ready. I had faced off with Jolene a thousand times. But something felt…off. My moves were clumsy, and while I still managed to knock the sword away from her, she managed to get in a few good slashes to my chest and torso.

"I…" Jolene turned to me. "I'm not feeling well! Hear me?"

If only she knew…

"Okay Linebeck, it's safe," I told the crate. "You can come out now."

The lid popped open and my "captain" jumped out. "She seriously needs to find a hobby. Anyways, here, this belonged to a friend of mine. You can have it!" He handed me a big red Rupee.

"Thanks," I replied unenthusiastically.

"Say, you're looking a bit pale. Like your friend here." He jerked his thumb in the direction of the statue we'd taken off the Ghost Ship.

"I'm fine," I muttered irritably. "Let's go to Mercay Island."

xXx

"So you're not even going stop in at the tavern for a drink? You look tired," Ceila commented.

"I'm fine!" I snapped, swatting at the fairy. "I've done this more times than I can count. I can do this," I continued as I trudged up the path to the Temple of the Ocean King.

Ceila avoided my swipe and proceeded to stop in midair, her wings held frozen. "What's with you today?" She asked.

"What's with _you_?" I countered.

"You're not usually this…this…touchy. Maybe Linebeck was right."

I faked amazement. "You agreed with Linebeck. I'm in shock."

Ceila sighed. "I just think you should take a break. All this stress can't be good for you."

"I'm fine," I repeated.

"You're not."

"I am!"

This continued throughout the Temple, in a clash of epic proportions.

xXx

Seventeen and half minutes later, I was still fuming about Ceila and I's argument, and though she had long since stopped trying to convince me of my ability to complete the segment of the Temple I was attempting, I could tell by the way she would occasionally engage in furious discussion with the other two spirits, Leaf and Neri, that she was still angry with me.

Or maybe it was concern. Either way, we had an unsteady peace treaty, and neither of us wanted to break it. So it was a little surprising when she spoke up.

"Link! The Sand!"

"What sand?" I asked crossly.

"In your hourglass...you don't have much time…"

Oh.

"Crap!" I looked around. Phantom here. Phantom there. No Safe Zone in sight. All I could do was watch the rest of the Sand of Hours drain into the bottom, and then stagger off as that familiar sucking feeling begin to worm its way into me.

"A-Ahh…!" I reached out weakly as I collapsed to the ground. "I-I can't…move…"

"Link? _Link!_" I heard Ceila yell before the world faded away.

xXx _(Ceila)_

"Ugh!" Leaf grunted, his wings beating wildly as he dragged Link's unconscious form towards a Safe Zone.

"Is she okay?" I fretted. I should have made her rest, I should have! If only she wasn't so stubborn…

"She'll be fine," Neri, calm as ever, reassured me. "We need only to get her out of the Temple."

"But I can't carry her much farther…" Leaf put in. "I may be the Spirit of Power, but even I have my limits."

"Then let's get Linebeck." Neri alighted on Link's forehead.

"Psssh!" I crossed my arms. "That cucco? No way!"

"But he could easily pick up Link," Neri argued.

"If we could get him into the Temple, maybe!" I scoffed.

"Tell him that he'll never get his wish if the Heroine dies." Leaf interjected.

"Link's dying?" I panicked. Guess I was more high-strung then I thought.

"No, no!" Neri was obviously frustrated. "But you know as well as I do how easy it is to fool Linebeck."

"So? I'm not gonna escort that idiot!" I'd do pretty much anything to avoid that, and I was making that known. A trip through an already terrible Temple with a coward calling me "Sparkles" didn't sound like much fun to me.

"Te…Tetre…" Link moaned, rolling over and trying to form her friend's name. "H-Help me…plea…" She coughed, then wept weakly. "Tetren! …Where are you…? I don't…" Another bout of coughing interrupted her, and she whimpered softly.

Neri jumped off the sleeping Heroine. "Hurry!" She urged, handing me the Phantom Hourglass.

"Way ahead of you!" I called back, already flying towards the stairs.

xXx _(Leaf)_

"I can't see any Phantoms," Neri reported. "Come on."

Sighing, I grabbed Link's undershirt and pulled her towards the next Safe Zone. _Ceila will be back soon…I hope Link will be okay…_

My burden flinched and I nearly dropped her. "Link!" I cried. "Hang in there!" To Neri, I inquired, "Are we almost there?"

"Just a—hey, Linebeck! Over here!" Neri fluttered past me and proceeded to bounce up and down to alert the others.

"Neri! Link's okay?" Ceila met the Spirit of Wisdom at the midway point.

Neri was silent for a moment. "She is…still among the living."

"Well, that's good." Ceila turned to Linebeck who had been strangely quiet.

"I'd hate…for the kid to get killed in here…" He finally commented, sounding stiff. "…Wouldn't want all that treasure to go to waste…" With that he scooped the fallen Heroine up. "Now let's get out of this blasted Temple!" That said, he ran off.

Ceila sniggered. "Was Linebeck actually _concerned _about Link? That's a first."

"Shut it, Sparkles!"

I shrugged. "At least I don't have to carry her anymore…and now I know she'll be okay."

xXx _(Link)_

"Mmmf…Tetren…?" I murmured, voice muffled.

"Hey, kid, you okay?"

"Link! You're awake!"

"Ceila…Linebeck…" I turned my head upwards and blinked at the blur of faces and fighting the darkness creeping into the corners of my eyes. Coughing, I attempted to sit up, but failed, due to Leaf's pushing me backwards and my own inability to garner the energy.

"Hey, Link, take it easy," Leaf cautioned, a tiny hand pressed against my forehead. "You should really be more careful."

"I'm alright," I protested, but my voice cracked and I ended up sounding like an eight-year-old trying to convince his parents that he wasn't tired. That wasn't helping my case much.

"Alright? Link, you collapsed in the Temple! Why didn't you tell us you weren't feeling well?" Ceila scolded.

"Because I was 'feeling well.'" _Oh, sure._

"Yeah, and Bellum is a flying bunny who wishes for world peace and love," Leaf retorted sarcastically.

"But I…" I began, but my words were cut off as I sneezed violently. "Ahh…that didn't feel too good…" I muttered, rubbing my nose.

"See?" Ceila smacked me lightly. "Think about yourself, Link. If you can't even take care of yourself, how do you intend to save the world?"

I raised my hands up in defeat. "Okay. You win, you win!"

"Good," Leaf took his hand off my forehead. "Promise me this though."

"What?" I groaned.

"Don't pass out and make me carry your lazy butt out of there again, okay?" Leaf laughed, then chanced a glance at me. "You had me worried for a minute there."

"Oh. I'm sorry…" I gave Leaf a worried look. "I didn't mean to…"

"It's okay."

I gave a sigh of relief. "I thought I…"

"You did. You scared poor Leaf here," Neri piped up. "Didn't know you were so close."

"We were?" I put a hand to my head to hold my bangs away.

If Leaf hadn't already been red-colored, I swear he would have turned it.

"…You saved my life," he finally mumbled.

I smiled weakly. "And you saved mine."

**xXx**

**A/N: First Dark Link, now FemLink? I swear, they'll come back to haunt me for plaguing** **them with microscopic bits of feel-like-crap…totally worth it, though. …Anyways, I don't know why I made Link a girl…something different, maybe, or maybe for the pairing of FemLink/Leaf…though I prefer Leaf/Neri…enough about me though!**

**Review. If you don't like it…that's probably because I wrote this for myself and not you…but if you do like it, TELL MEH. VERAN, SORCERESS OF SHADOWS, COMMANDS YOU. …Or something. Oh yeah, and you get a Linebeck pushie…**


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